SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
Business 126-Advanced Accounting: T-TH CLASS
SPRING 2002

I.  INSTRUCTOR RELATED & FINAL EXAMINATION INFORMATION:

All Classes- Final Examinations Dates and Times

         
II. COURSE TEXT AND OTHER MATERIAL:

Advanced Accounting, Pahler and Mori; The Dryden Press (Harcourt Brace & Company), 2000, 7^th ed. See the inside covers for check figures to exercises & problems.

Study Guide to accompany Advanced Accounting (includes working paper templates).  Optional.

Software Models. Download from my web page 6 software spreadsheet models that you need to use to work certain, specified homework problems on the computer.

III. COURSE CONTENT AND PREREQUISITES:

Accounting for multi-unit domestic and foreign operations and intercompany transactions.  Key topics include corporate mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, purchase accounting, goodwill, equity versus cost method of valuing investments in subsidiaries,, intercompany inventory transfers, unrealized intercompany profits, basics of preparing consolidated financial statements, translation of foreign currency transactions, translation of foreign currency financial statements, and international accounting (foreign accounting practices, foreign tax structures, transfer pricing issues, alternative foreign organization structures, causes of foreign exchange rate changes).  Blends in finance concepts to accounting situations using real world cases.  Heavy emphasis on developing EXCEL spreadsheet skills (using templates, designing models, programming macros, inserting logic functions, creating macro buttons, and using certain formula functions).

Course Prerequisites‑‑Grade of C‑ or Below.  Students must attain a grade of C or better in accounting courses that are a prerequisite to this course (Bus 100W, 121A, 121B).  If a C‑ or below was attained in any of these courses, you cannot enroll in this class.

Bus 170‑‑A Recommended Prerequisite.  Having completed Bus 170 will be somewhat helpful for this course.  If you have not yet completed Bus 170 (a core business requirement), it is your responsibility to learn on your own: (1) the internal rate of return (IRR) method (about two pages); and (2) return on equity/return on assets concepts (also about two pages) from a basic finance text.

IV. GRADING SCALE & TESTING:                       

If a student has a borderline grade, the quality of class participation throughout the semester may be taken into consideration in arriving at the course grade.

Grading Rationale:  A grading curve is not used so as to prevent the overall intellectual caliber of the class (which can and often does vary significantly from class to class) from entering into the determination of a student's final grade.  Thus, a student's performance is measured solely against the standard of the grading scale‑‑not against those around him or her.  No subjective evaluation is made for the trend of the test scores whether such trend is upward or downward.  Variations are more a result of the relative difficulties of the various topics, the sequence in which the topics are covered having no relationship to their degree of difficulty.

Distinction Between Effort and Results:  Occasionally, a student indicates to me that a grade based solely on exami­nations is not reflective of the hours of study and prepa­ration that they have incurred.  Their implication is that those who spend more time (regardless of the extent that the material has been learned or not learned) should possibly receive a higher grade than their test score grade merely because they incurred more time and effort than others, which time, of course, could not be verified anyway.  The amount of time incurred in learning the topics is totally irrelevant in determining the final grade.  The amount of time spent studying and preparing depends on an individual's motivation and ability.  Everyone is equal in the sense of having the same opportunity to earn a desired grade.  The grade is and should be a reflection only of how well a student has mastered the material without regard to the amount of individual time incurred in learning the material.  In other words, a differentiation must be made between effort and results.

Preparing for Exams:  Some exercises from each chapter will be reviewed in class.  To be prepared properly for tests, you should work all exercises in each assigned chapter.

Review of Tests:  Examinations will be returned and reviewed at the very next meeting.

V.  MANDATORY WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:   

In practice, accountants are often given assignments for which only common sense and good analytical thinking is necessary.  In other words, the solution cannot be found in a textbook. 

To prepare you for such post‑graduation experiences, you have many assignments of this nature.  They are called Financial Analysis Problems, which are a separate series of problems following the regular problems and are designated as "FAP".  Many of these are group assignments for in class presentations.  The solutions are to be submitted in the exact following format:

1. No cover page.
2. Name and problem number in upper right corner.
3. Class Time.
4. No folders.
5. Stapled in upper left corner.
6. Three pages maximum.
7. Submit only on 8 1/2" x 11" paper--no 14" wide paper.
8. Requirements calling for a narrative response must be typed.
9. The paper/report must be professional looking.
Note:  Make a Xerox copy for use in review of problem in class.

Each assignment will be collected at the beginning of class on the due date and then reviewed in class on that date.

If the level of effort is not satisfactory on any of these assignments, a negative five points for that assignment will be factored into the grade.  NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS.

VI.  COMPUTER ASSIGNMENT USING SPREADSHEET MODELS:

The following homework problems are to be worked on the computer using the spreadsheet models that accompany the text:

  VIII.  DEADLINES AND UNIVERSITY RULES:

Catalog and Other Information:  Students are advised to refer to the schedule of classes for the semester regarding regulations.

Students are also advised to refer to the university catalog regarding academic regulations.

Special Situations: If you need course adaptations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours.

                                                    CP = Computer Problem

PROBLEM 2-8--BONUS COMPUTER ASSIGNMENT REQUIRING CREATION OF AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET MODEL CONTAINING MACROS, LOGIC FUNCTIONS, AND BUTTONS. [due mtg. #11] 

Additional Instructions and Guidance to the requirements on Page 61 (BE SURE TO READ PAGE 61 THOROUGHLY BEFORE READING THE FOLLOWING):

A. BASICS OF MODEL CREATION: 

Create a model of an accounting worksheet using the handout problem.  Turn in two computer printouts as follows:

(1)  In REGULAR (nonformula display) format.  This printout should be
     identical to page 66 of the textbook (including all vertical and
     horizontal lines.  However, you should:

  (a) Shorten/abbreviate the account descriptions.

  (b) Use two 3-character-wide columns for coding the accounting entries in
      the debit and credit columns.

EXCEL programming commands to use so that formulas are NOT displayed:

       TOOLS, OPTIONS, VIEW, FORMULAS (no X in the formulas box), OK

  (c) Omit 000's to conserve space horizontally.  Thus enter 66 rather
      than 66,000. 

(2)  In FORMULAS DISPLAYED format (EXCEL).    

This format displays the formulas you are to program.  Use the following command:  TOOLS, OPTIONS, VIEW, FORMULAS (an X is in the formulas box), OK.  This printout must show the Excel column letters (A, B, C, etc.) and row numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) so that I can readily determine whether your logic functions and formulas are proper.

B. PROGRAMMING TWO MACROS:  PROGRAM TWO MACROS IN THIS ASSIGNMENT--THESE MUST BE INCLUDED ON THE PRINTOUTS YOU TURN IN:

#1-To convert from the comma format to the display formulas format and adjust column widths as necessary for full display of formulas.

#2-To reverse the first macro.

EXCEL 97: Use TOOLS, MACRO, RECORD NEW MACRO command.

In the Record New Macro Dialog Box, do as follows:

  1. Put in the "Macro Name" (what you wish to call your macro).

  2. Put in the "Description" (what the macro does).

  3. In the "Shortcut key" box, (1) put the letter you wish to use for your command function.  Now click on OK.

Next use the mouse to execute the steps you want the macro to perform (changing the display format and changing certain column widths).  When you are finished executing these steps, stop recording by either (1) hitting the stop recording button if it is displayed or (2) using the TOOLS, MACRO, STOP RECORDING.

Your macro has now been saved.  To display the macro steps on the screen so you can see the steps that you have recorded, do the following:

EXCEL 97:  Use the TOOLS, MACRO, MACROS, EDIT, command.

EXCEL 5.0:  Select the Module 1 worksheet (EXCEL 5.0) at the bottom of the screen., click on Module 1 at the bottom of the screen (on the line immediately above the status bar). 

D. TO PRINT YOUR MACROS: 

EXCEL 97: Use the TOOLS, MACRO, MACROS, EDIT, FILE, PRINT command.

EXCEL 5.0: Select the Module 1 worksheet at the bottom of the screen and then click on FILE, PRINT, OK

E. PROGRAMMING LOGIC FUNCTIONS:  Program two IF logic functions.

Click on the paste function (f_x) on the standard tool bar.  Then select LOGICAL.  Then select IF.  Then hit the NEXT button at the bottom of the dialog box to get to page 2 of the dialog box.  Then follow the prompts.  An example of an IF logic formula is as follows:

                      IF(K40>J40, K40-J40, 0)

Note that an IF logic function consists of three parts:

(1) An argument concerning a condition to be tested,
(2) A command to insert a defined amount (or zero) if the condition is
    true, and
(3) A command to insert a defined amount (or zero) if the condition is
    false.

F. VERY LAST STEP--ADDING TWO BUTTONS FOR YOUR MACROS:  Near the top of your worksheet, create two buttons.  Assign one button to Macro A and the other button to Macro B.  Use the VIEW, TOOLBARS, FORMS command to display the Forms toolbar.  Then click on the button icon (right column, second one from top).  Next move the cursor to where you want your button located and size it accordingly by dragging.  After sizing, the Assign Macro dialog box appears for you to assign the appropriate macro to the appropriate button.  After doing so, modify the button title so that it is appropriately informative of its function.

Printout Showing the Buttons:  Right click on your button, select Format Control, select Properties, and then put check in "Print object" box.  (If you do not do this, you must call up the Excel file in Word to have to button print out.)  See my "Creating Buttons" file on my home page for more details on creating and printing buttons.

POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED FOR EACH WRITTEN INSTRUCTION
 NOT EXPLICITLY FOLLOWED.